Food, wine, Aspen - it's foodie heaven

The country’s biggest food festival opened Thursday night in Aspen, luring 5,000 people to the posh town for a long weekend of feasting, boozing, schmoozing and a lot of parties.

Now in its 31st year, the Food & Wine Classic turns Aspen into something like Hollywood for foodies, with chef celebrities not only signing books and demonstrating cooking techniques, but wandering around town yakking on their cellphones, hanging out in hotel lobbies and bars, and clinking glasses with fans at private shindigs.

The sold-out event runs through Sunday.

“Aspen is special,” said chef Eric Ripert, a fixture on televised food shows and the owner of Le Bernardin in New York City, during a Caribbean-themed event in a hotel courtyard Friday. “We have fun, we are always working.” (He raises a cocktail and grins; it is noon.)

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With temperatures in the mid-70s and not even a puffy cloud decorating the blue sky, Ripert called it “Colorado at its best.”

One of the most anticipated annual parties, hosted by Washington, D.C., restaurateur Jose Andres, was held Thursday night at a new, multimillion-dollar house in the hills above Aspen. Here, Mario Batali put his feet up and watched a bit of the basketball playoffs between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. Old-school celebrity chef Jacques Pepin attracted adoring fans and fellow chefs, “Top Chef” chief judge Tom Colicchio walked around sampling Spanish foods, and New York restaurateur Danny Meyer wandered the big house, ducking into the stone wine cellar for a spell.

A whole lamb roasted on a spit outside, workers shucked oysters and nestled them on beds of ice, tables of wine could be found at every turn, and one chef made “tacos” by shaving slices from a fancy Spanish ham, and topping them with spoonfuls of caviar.

While the lamb turned on the squeaky spit, San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino said he comes to Aspen for the camaraderie.

“Here we are at this house, with Jose,” he said. “We talk business, we talk shop, it’s a lovely place — these mountains are one of my favorite places. Amazing food and wine, great company. It’s not often that we can get together as a group and blow off steam.”

Cosentino also talked about how he became acquainted with the mountains — he lived in his car in Summit County for a spell, when he was a professional cyclist. All he did was ride his bike and sleep, he said.

Friday morning, a bunch of the chef celebs gathered at Hotel Jerome, where chefs Rick Bayless and Susan Feniger served chilaquiles, lettuce cups stuffed with Korean rice, and addictive fried bananas, among other things. Then the party migrated to a tent-covered city, where wine distributors, cheesemakers, tourism boards, kitchen-supplies manufacturers and just about every category linked to the food industry handed out food and drink to guests.

“It’s good to be gluttonous sometimes,” said Maya Berthoud, the director of operations with Breckenridge Distillery. “Everybody is prospering in the spirits world right now. This event has such a good energy vibe.”

At the booth for Elway’s restaurants, culinary director Tyler Wiard said Elway’s comes because “the electricity is so contagious.”

“We feel now that Elway’s has four locations, we can really promote our brand and have fun at the same time,” he said.